"Over the course of a long and glorious history, Inter have always distinguished themselves by their integrity and honesty," Thohir said. "Our mission us to support and continue this tradition. In everything I do, I believe that the fundamental principles for being successful are working hard, being honest and being trustworthy.

"I have made an effort to respect these principles at Inter and to spur the club on to reach higher levels. As president of Inter, my role is to evaluate the performance of everybody here and to challenge everybody at the club, me included, to excel. I cannot allow anybody from outside our club to criticise publicly our internal affairs.

"I will defend Inter and what we represent with everything I have got. At Inter, we have always acted responsibly and in good faith, and we will continue taking decisions which are in the absolute interests of the club, both now and in the future."

Inter general manager Marco Fassone had already spoken out in defence of his club. Juve, meanwhile, are currently remaining silent, with coach Antonio Conte's weekly news conference scheduled for Friday cancelled.